Snow and Passion
by Me-la Kenzu Chan
Summary: Chapter 9! Zabuza dies protecting Haku instead of the other way around. Without a reason to live, Haku stays with team 7 and moves into Konoha. He meets Hinata and new bonds begin to form.
1. First Meeting

Hi ya! I'm going to write this fanfic and probably cry ten thousand times in the process!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Naruto....I can only dream up stories...

CHAPTER 1

A beautiful clear sky hung over Konoha. The winds blew softly over every valley and hill. The small village was bustling about. Throughout the crowd, there seemed to be a beautiful young woman walking in the direction of the graveyard. She was holding a basket with a small cloth covering the contents.

As the person reached her destination, she sat and she placed the basket down.

"Zabuza-san..."she sighed. (It should be obvious now to you guys that this "woman" is really Haku, we know the truth about his gender )

Another young woman happened to be at the grave site that day. Her short hair and strange yet beautiful eyes would make her identity known easily. Hinata was there for no particular reason. She felt like there was no reason she should stay home. That harsh atmosphere wasn't something she enjoyed. She refused to go down to the training ground that day, knowing she would run into one of either her teammates or Naruto's. She spotted the other "woman" from the tree she was leaning against. Instinctively, she hid behind even though the other had not seen her.

Haku sighed again. Unwillingly recalling the events that led up to this very day.

'Zabuza-san,' He thought as he looked upon the grave. 'Isn't it nice how considerate the leaf people are... to give you a tombstone.'

He giggled as he began to think aloud, "It's quite silly, since all ninjas always dispose of their bodies... yet they leave a marking here... as if your body is here..."

'Wow." Hinata thought as she unconsciously spied on the other person. 'She's so beautiful. Is she morning for someone?'

"As you already know, they've taken me in... it's nice, though I am an odd number in team 7... but I still miss you..." He wiped one tear escaping his eye. "I still wonder why... even to this day... why did you protect me Zabuza-san..... You died protecting **_me _**... I'm hardly worthy of such a thing..." The tears were flowing freely now. "I wanted to be there for you...I never thought it'll end this way..."

"It's so hard to keep living without.... Didn't you know... that my only dream was yours....." He continued. "I believe... the only reason I'm still here today... is because... that you used your life...t-to..." Haku began to sob. "Za-Zabuza-san..... It's so painful without you here..." He pulled out a small knife.

Hinata gasped. "No!! Don't do it!!" she slapped the knife out of his hand.

Haku stared at Hinata. "Why.. did you..."

"I can't say I know how you feel," Hinata started, surprised at her own boldness, "But I'm sure that if this person your morning over is as important to you as he or she is, I'm nearly positive that they would want you to live a long and happy life."

Haku stared at Hinata at bit longer, and then, to her surprise, started to giggle again.

"Yes, I'm sure your right miss...," He wiped all of his tears away, "but I'm sure Zabuza-san wouldn't mind if I cut the stems off the flowers I brought him."

Hinata blushed so hard that she almost fainted "I-I...I'm so s-sorry! P-Please excuse me!" She turned to leave.

"Um, miss?"

"Y-Yes?"

"What's your name?"

She slowly turned around, "Hinata..."

"Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blush deepened to the color of flame. "Yes?"

Haku reached into the basket and pulled out the orchids, "Would you mind... helping me cut the flowers?"

".....S-sure."

CHAPTER 1 END

Okay! That's the end of the first chapter, review me and tell me what you thought. I'll add the next chapter soon!


	2. Waiting

Thank you very much for the detailed reviews. I'm going to answer the questions.

Why is Haku on Genin Level in Konoha?

Well.. He isn't a genin level, but since he's just gotten there under such odd circumstances, he's been placed with the people he knows best. Team 7. It's only temporary and will change soon.

Why did Haku Call Hinata "chan"?

In the manga, he called Naruto "Naruto-kun" almost as soon as he meets him... I thought he'd do the same for Hinata.

Why did I misspell mourning?

Opps... I didn't know better :P

Okay! Here comes another supposedly good chappie .

Disclaimer: blah blah.... Naruto is not a creation of mine

* * *

'Sasuke-kun...how could he?' Haku thought sadly.

In all honesty, Haku had gotten used to Sasuke being cold. At first, Haku thought that Sasuke was discomforted around the person that almost killed him; but later, he saw that Sasuke was cold to just about everybody.

Whenever Naruto-kun said something thoughtless, Sasuke-kun was annoyed. When Sakura-chan flirted, Sasuke-kun was annoyed. When Haku giggled, Sasuke-kun, for some reason or another, would be annoyed.

Haku mentally smirked at the thought that Sasuke reminded him of a grumpy old man. But today, Sasuke had been too harsh. He actually told Sakura-chan off. The poor girl was so devastated, she had run off before Kakashi-sensei could arrive late. Naruto threw a glare at Sasuke before running to catch her, only to have Kakashi-sensei grab him by the collar a sit him down.

"I'll go get her." Kakashi said in a way that he made it clear there would be no arguments.

So now, Haku sat inbetween Sasuke and Naruto. He could feel Naruto's anger towards Sasuke growing stronger as Sasuke sat uncaring.

"Naruto-kun..."

"Hn?" Naruto immediately snapped out of his mood. "What?"

"What can you tell me about Hinata?"

"You wanna know about her?!" Naruto asked. Then, he got his usually foxy grin. "What for?"

"Oh... I met her about a week ago.... She said something about you." He smiled graciously, "Are you two close?"

"Wha? Nope! Nope!" Naruto nodded as if agreeing to his own comment. "She's nice though."

Haku giggled slightly, just then, Sasuke snorted. Naruto immediately remembered he was pissed off at him.

Naruto stood and pointed his finger right at Sasuke. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY BASTARD!!?!?!"

Sasuke looked at him straight in the eye. "I don't have to answer you."

Haku sweatdropped. "You just did."

Sasuke glared. Naruto laughed in his face.

"Shut up dead-last."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

"You're a dobe if you didn't hear me the first time."

"STOP ACTING COOL!"

"After you chill out."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"

"Shut up."

Naruto got in Sasuke's face. "No."

"Move it before-"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" He screamed in Sasuke's ear. Sasuke fell over in pain gripping his head. Naruto doubled over, laughing until his throat got sore.

"Ano....Naruto-kun....Sasuke-kun...?" Haku asked with his eyes almost closed the way Naruto's does (He's rubbing off on him). "Shouldn't we be....self training or something?"

At that very moment Kakashi came back with Sakura.

"Haku."

"Hm? Yes Kakashi sensei?"

"The Hokage asked to meet you."

* * *

I wonder if I made Naruto and Sasuke interact correctly...... Any who, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review....tell if you think I did something wrong...but, if you think I did something right, you can tell me that to


	3. Rememberance

I got a question from someone wanting to know what happened during the fight that caused Zabuza's death instead of Haku's. After watching a really sad Haku tribute, this thought came to mind. This chapter is a flashback for those who are curious. I'll get back to the current story line later in the next chapter.

Oh, and to my reviewer who got offended by the little argument between Naruto and Sasuke. Yes, I agree, after like three seasons, the two get along like brothers, but at the beginning, they didn't. Point blank. You see, I brought Haku back and I'm going according to the story line from there. At this point in the story, Sasuke didn't have a stick in his butt, he had a branch!...So just so you know, that review offended me. ((sticks tongue out)) calm down! This story isn't even centered around them!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters within it. It and they belong to its respected owner(s)

* * *

(About a month ago)

It seemed to be nothing but a dark void... the only thing he felt was pain.

"What?....what is happening," Though he felt as if he was commanding his body to speak, nothing came out. Everything suddenly brightened. The light was blinding as he felt his eyes open. In front of him, he saw only red. There was a lot of pressure on his body..... there was... a body on top of him.....bleeding....

"Za...Zabuza-san!?" Haku almost screamed the name. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He had asked Naruto to kill him... because he thought he was truly a useless shinobi to Zabuza. He waited for death when Naruto finally rushed at him with his kunai. But.... What.... What just....

He realized it so quickly, he almost passed out. Zabuza had protected him at the last moment. He saw Naruto kunai jabbed inside Zabuza's neck. Zabuza's body had fallen back and knocked him out, and now his blood was spilt... all over him...

"N...no...no...it can't be happening this way....n.NO!!! ZABUZA-SAN!!" Haku grasped the body and cried bitterly. He didn't see Naruto in front of him shocked. He didn't notice Sakura watching in utter grief. He couldn't see Kakashi surprised. He didn't even see Sasuke waking up from his temporary death.

All he knew at that moment, was that Zabuza was dead. That he died protecting him. He got in the way and used his own body. Haku looked at Zabuza's bandaged face. Haku could feel Zabuza's blood on his own body. He could see death in his eyes. He knew Zabuza was dead. There was nothing else... he was gone....forever....but why..

"W-why Zabuza-san..." The words shook out of his mouth. "I wanted to be there for you.. to help you...I wanted to protect you...how...why did you.." He sobbed and held his body closer. Knowing that moment that something inside of himself broke.

"....Zabuza-san..." He shivered...crying harder. "ZABUZA-SAN!!!"

* * *

((has nothing to say)) .....please review...((is depressed after writing this chapter))

Actually, I do have something to say. I got this chapter together simply switching the places. At the same time Haku was going to let Naruto kill him, Zabuza was going to get killed by Kakashi. So instead of Haku getting in the way, Zabuza did. ((is still whimpering though)) Gawd, I love them!!


	4. Ramen

Here comes another chapter! Thanks for the reviews. That flashback chapter really had me down ! But this one's back to the lovely present!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ...

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There was a huge crowd gather at the ramen shop. A contest to sponsor something Haku couldn't quite remember was being held. Naturally since it was a ramen shop, it was an eating contest.

"Naruto-kun's definitely going to win." Haku stated bluntly.

"No way." Sakura countered. "Sasuke-kun's going to win."

"Hmmm, I disagree... unless.. Naruto-kun pukes first" He giggled. At first, he didn't think Sasuke would participate in something like this, but then, Naruto challenged him. The minute the word coward came up; Sasuke was there. Now, they were practically inhaling nauseating amounts of ramen. Even through the rain of ramen, you could still here them muffling insults at each other. Haku really enjoyed his time with them like this. Lately, since he had talked to the Hokage, his high level ability was recognized and he made it up to Jounin in no time with a few trials and such. Times like this were becoming rarer and rarer.

Across the shop, Kiba watched dumbly. He had decided that today, his team (him being the "leader") should have lunch at the ramen shop after training. But unfortunately, one certain blond and a black-haired boy ruined his appetite; even Shino's glasses went slightly crooked when he noticed. Now, both of them watched as their own ramen grew cold. Hinata held Akamaru. She let the cute little dog eat the half of her ramen she couldn't eat. Though she silently cheered on Naruto, she couldn't help but think the scene was just a little.....disgusting.

At that moment, she heard a light giggle. She turned around and spotted the person she saw about a month and a half earlier.

'It's that beautiful woman," She thought. Then she remembered she didn't even ask "her" name earlier.

'Maybe I should...n-no I shouldn't....' She blushed awkwardly as she wondered whether or not she should ask. They became friends quickly, so it wouldn't be opposing, but "she" was talking to Sakura right now.

'I shouldn't butt in....' she decided finally, though her mind still troubled her.

At that moment Sasuke's face turned an odd shade of green. He tried to hold it in. He really did! But he couldn't. He turned away from the table and threw up. Not just a normal tossing of the cookies; he made it look like he was tossing a mountain. Naruto grinned triumphantly before his face turned blue and he did the same. Haku paled a little. The smell was making everyone's faces turn one color or another.

Haku smiled weakly. "Sakura-chan.... I was right."

"......Haku...shut u-u-up-" She threw up on the ground in front of her.

"....................." Haku forced himself not to stare down at the other mess. He held his stomach, feeling an urge he wished would go away. "uuh." His face now resembled the color of a ripe pear.

Hinata willed herself to be polite enough to bring Sakura a napkin. She hoped that Naruto and Sasuke could stop puking, it was starting to effect even Akamaru's little stomach. And as much as she loved the little dog, she didn't want his little remains on her. She bit down her shyness as she handed Sakura the napkin.

"I think you could use this....Sakura." She smiled shyly as she gave it to her. Sakura could only weakly nod in response.

Haku smiled, immediately recognizing his friend from the other day.

"Hinata-chan," He greeted. "It's nice to see you again."

Hinata smiled back, feeling the blush slowly leave her face. "It's nice to see you again to."

Haku giggled again. He regretted it immediately. He got up quickly, Hoping to beat the feeling his stomach was giving him. "Wellitwastrulywonderfultoseeyouagain! ButIhavetogo!" And with that. He was out of there.

Hinata stared after the trail of smoke puzzled.

"Umm....bye."

* * *

I think that was a cute ending for this chapter . Leave me a review and tell me what ya thought. Though a prefer good ones, I'll use the bad to improve my writings! I'll try to type up the next chappie soon.


	5. Tea and Kisses

Thank you all for the reviews !! desperately needs encouragement to write

Why do I keep Hinata in the dark?…it's fun! I changed the ending for chapter 4, I planned for Haku to run into the boy's restroom…but we all know Hinata's no fool…she woulda figured it out. Soooo.. He dipped. Anywho...I'm starting the next chappie. Sorry it took me so long to update though…Graduation Exams…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

He walked into his apartment and fell on the couch with a thud. Ever since the Chunin Exam incident.. he got missions quite often. This recent one required a lot of homicide. Haku frowned; now he'd have to clean blood stains off of the couch. He stood up and forced his tired body into the shower.

Afterwards, he laid in bed…

'If I don't think of something to do,' He mused, 'I'm going to get depressed again…'

Living alone was taking its toll on Haku.

'Hmm…perhaps…' He sat up,

'I know!', He smiled happily.

'I'll invite some friends over for tea tomorrow! Wonderful!'

He laid back down and snuggled under the covers , gleefully planning the next day.

* * *

Hinata looked at the invitation she received from her friend by the hands of Naruto, she was simply in a light blue v-necked shirt and navy blue shorts. Naruto excitedly bounced up and down.

"Isn't great! I've never been invited anywhere before!"

"Uh….yeah...Naruto-kun.." She stared at the invitation slightly puzzled, "How….formal.."

"I'll see ya later Hinata!"

"..sure...Naruto-kun.."

As Naruto dashed off. He didn't tell Hinata, but on his way to her house, he tripped and smudged the part containing Haku's name and all.

"Oh well.. she still got the address"

* * *

'Hmm, I wonder if Naruto-kun has given the invites to Kiba-kun, Hinata-chan, Shino-kun and Sakura-chan yet..'

Naruto came by his house earlier that morning to give him some pack ramen (Naruto knows the roughness of living alone). He found the door open and walked in to see Haku diligently working at his table. Haku smiled up at him, informing our little fox boy about his plans. Luckily, before he sent Naruto off to play delivery boy, he hid Sasuke's invitation in Sakura's. He knew Naruto and Sasuke would clash, so he made sure to also leave a special note in Sakura's asking her to give Sasuke his own invitation. That would certainly delight Sakura.

And now, after making sure his apartment was at it's cleanest, he set the table gingerly.

The first to arrive was Shino. He nodded to Haku in greeting, and found a place to sit. Haku politely attempted to start conversation, but he felt a chill when a bug crawled out of Shino's hair. Instead of chatting, he decided to prepare some extra rice balls.

Next, Naruto returned grinning from ear to ear. Haku figured Naruto pulled some prank, but he knew better than to ask, now he had a helper in the kitchen. Naruto, surprising, followed Haku's cooking directions very well.

The first arriving female was Sakura. She hugged Haku and whispered in his ear,

"I appreciate it."

Haku smirked slightly,

"I figured you would."

Sasuke walked in behind her, snorting and saying something about annoying girls. Sakura coaxed Sasuke into sitting next to her.

Hinata arrived last with Kiba and Akamaru wagging their tails behind them. Haku greeted them both while Hinata blushed at Haku shyly. Haku wore a simple ice blue kimono which really flattered his pale skin. As they sat, chaos began.

First, Naruto teased Sasuke about something simple. That escalated into a huge fight. Then, Kiba spilled something on the carpet, Hinata slipped on the slippery spot and landed on Akamaru. Akamaru got a scare and peed on Shino. Shino got up and left immediately. Kiba had to take Akamaru home (apparently, Hinata's a lot heavier than they all thought).

Finally, Sakura got in the middle of Sasuke and Naruto's fight, begging them to stop; Sasuke insulted Sakura; Naruto insulted Sasuke; then Inner Sakura got pissed and ended up beating the mess out of both boys. She apologized and dragged both of them out, leaving Haku with quite a mess to clean after.

"………."

Hinata sighed. "Umm….Can I help you?...W-with the mess?"

Haku turned around, mentally thanking God for some help.

"Sure Hinata-chan."

They worked silently for a few hours.. eventually, the apartment was as spotless as it was before.

"Thank you soo much for your help!"

Hinata blushed shyly, "I-It's nothing."

"No really, it is…please, is there something I can do for you later on Hinata-chan?"

"W-well….."

"Well?"

"Wh-what's your name please…"

"Huh?" Haku stared at her puzzled. "I never told you my name…?…."

"No."

"Oh…sorry…" Now he blushed.

"That's okay.."

"No, it isn't." Haku firmly replied as he picked up the last of the of the cleaning utensils. "That was very rude of me." He smiled very charming.

"My name is Haku."

"Haku?" Hinata replied oddly, 'Haku is a boy's name.' She thought.

He nodded in response, while he went into the kitchen to put up everything.

"umm… Haku?"

"Yes?" He answered from the kitchen.

"You…you look very lovely today.."

Haku poked his head out from the kitchen door. "Thank Hinata-chan, you always look lovely."

"…Thanks."

He giggled. "It's dark out now."

"It is?" She looked out the window. Sure enough, the sun had set.

"Oh! My father! He'll throw a fit!"

"Really? Maybe I can explain to him.."

"He'll be so angry."

"Hinata-chan.."

"Yeah?"

"Calm down." He sighed, placing both hands on her shoulders. Hinata's face became a strong shade of red. She blushed as she thought, 'She's so…mature all the time.' Her face cast down slightly, 'And so confident…I wish I could be stronger like her…'

"Hinata?"

"Y-yes?"

Haku's face now flushed. 'I'm a little too close…' He looked at her face, they were almost nose to nose. 'Way too close…..almost close enough to…'

He kissed her soft lips.

* * *

Cliff hanger!!!!! What will Hinata's response be to the man she thinks is a woman? You don't know yet!!! Ha ha! Yes, I am evil.. :P. Leave a review and I'll probably add the next chappie soon! Hee hee!! 


	6. Hospital

Wowwies…you like how I keep Hinata out of the loop… thankies !

sorry about the SCENE CHANGE thing; this stupid computer won't let me do the horizontal rule thingy

Disclaimer:: I don't own Naruto or anything related to it.

SCENE CHANGE

Hinata was in shock. Pure shock. Her eyes were wide open the whooooole time. All that went through her head was

'ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod ohmigodohmigod'

Haku felt a sharp pain.

SCENE CHANGE

He woke up and vaguely could even get in touch with his surroundings when he felt someone grip his neck in a hug. Tears fell over his shoulder, and in a little bit, he realized it was Sakura holding him. She was crying and he couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Sakura….chan?"

She pulled away and wiped some tears aside, "I-I'm so ha-happy…You-you were…"

Haku tried to sit up, but his stomach felt like it was going to rip apart, he quickly laid back down, tears streaming down his own face from pure pain.

"Ah….Wh-what?"

"Haku-kun….you shouldn't try to move…" Sakura said softly.

He laid back and viewed the room he was in. It was a hospital…

"Before you ask," Sakura started, "Yes, you are in a hospital…and we're still not sure what happened.."

"………..How long..have I been here?"

"About 8 days.."

"And you have no clue what happened?"

"Well…. We do know… that Hinata kept saying it was an accident…but she was to shaken up to tell us everything."

"..Hinata-chan……" Every thing suddenly came back to him. "…oh…"

"Oh what?" Sakura asked curiously.

He blushed slightly, "No-nothing…it's nothing.."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, but she lost her thought pattern when Naruto came in the room.

Haku could see the conflict of emotions in Naruto's eyes. It was as if Naruto couldn't decide whether to jump and hug him, or simply show a huge grin. Haku got both. The kitsune jumped and hugged him so tightly, it hurt; not that Haku minded. He then flashed a big grin and shoved a packet in his face.

"I brought this for you because hospital food sucks." Naruto announced proudly.

Haku smiled and opened it to see some ramen that had carefully been put inside a thermal container.

"Thank you…Naruto-kun."

"Naw…it's nothing."

"Naruto!" Sakura whined. "I told you that would be bad for his system!"

"But Sakura-chan," Both of the boys replied at the same time. Then they both paused and stared at each other.

"You can finish." Haku sweatdropped.

"Uh…sure." Naruto mumbled. "Umm.. I was gonna say……I forgot now…you finish."

"I forgot to."

The room was completely silent for a few minutes until a light knock was heard. They all turned around to see Hinata smiling shyly, holding a basket of her own to give Haku.

END CHAPTER

Yikes…what is it with me and cliffhangers lately?...well…you kind people got another one. I'll try to update fast to lessen the cruel cruel suspense. Leave me a review ! I wonder if anyone can tell me what happened to Haku during the kiss before I update and tell you.


	7. Burst the Bubble

Hee hee…Finally, ye shall discover what foul fate has befallen Haku…. I shall goeth straight to thy disclaimer! (Sorry for the Old English…too much History class )

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto Or Anything In It!

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Hinata blushed guiltily as she entered the room; Sakura got up and said,

"Come on Naruto, it's time to go…we don't want to be as late as Kakashi-sensei."

"There's no way I'll ever be as late as him!" Naruto jumped up. But before he left, he slid the ramen under Haku's bed and whispered, "I still say you're gonna need this." Then he left the room with Sakura.

"Good morning…Haku.."

He smiled shyly at the girl, "Good morning Hinata-chan…how are you?"

'Hopefully, not angry,' He thought.

"Fine…I should be asking you that."

"Peachy." He almost smirked.

She sat beside his bed and passed him the basket.

"I know we shouldn't bring you stuff like this…but I agree with Naruto-kun about hospital food."

Haku happily accepted the basket and peeked at the contents. Inside, were a variety of things, such as rice balls, chips, cookies, and a few type of candies.

"Wow…thank you Hinata-chan."

She turned away sadly, "You shouldn't thank me… I'm the reason you're here."

"……..Hinata-chan…"

"Hmm?"

"What happened?"

Her head hung down, guilt making her features incredibly sad.

"…I….When you...kissed me….I .. I really didn't mean to…but….I….I….used my gentle fist at your gut…I really didn't mean to…it just happened…I think I freaked out… I'm so sorry…"

Haku was silent for a moment, he recalled being at the chuunin exams and seeing the technique. He smiled when he looked back up at her.

"Hinata-chan, please don't apologize… it was very wrong of me to push myself on you like that. I should be saying sorry…"

'Not that I sincerely am..' he thought guiltily… (he knows he enjoyed it )

"No… I should've considered your feelings…but…"

"Please don't worry about it…it was wrong of me."

"…………I just have to tell you….that you're a good friend of mine…but you have to know that…We're just too alike… a relationship...the kind you're asking….it just can't happen."

"Well… at that, I suppose you are right…I am a bit too old compared to you, aren't I.."

"Too old? How old are you?"

"17."

"….um…even though that may be a problem.. I didn't mean age… we're too alike…I don't know how else to say it."

"Huh? Oh! I know you like Naruto-kun! I'm sorry… I figured you liked him more than a friend.."

"What? I'm..! I don't mean that! We're too alike!"

"Alike? You don't like people with black hair?"

"NO! Not that!"

He blinked cluelessly for a moment.. "Hinata? You're not saying that it's because we have the same skin tone.."

"NO! NO no nononono no! It's not that! Definitely not that!" Hinata stood up, and said quite loudly, "WHEN I SAID WE'RE TOO MUCH ALIKE, I MEANT IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE BOTH GIRLS!" She was blushing furiously.

At that moment, a nurse came into the room.

"Excuse me…I need to check up on him a moment-"

"-You think I'm a girl?" Haku looked slightly surprised.

The nurse repeated a bit louder, "Excuse me! I'm sorry if I'm disturbing anything, but I need to check up a few things with you-"

"What do you mean 'You think I'm a girl?', aren't you female?" Hinata almost stuttered.

The nurse rose her voice, "Excuse Me! I really need to-"

"I'M a MAN!" Haku fussed, "I've known you for almost half a year! You didn't know I was a man!"

The nurse got a bit louder, "EXCUSE ME-"

"Then you're……you're a cross dresser!" Hinata almost whispered, quite shocked.

"Umm...Excuse me-" The nurse tried again but got cut off once more.

"CROSS DRESSER! I AM NOT A CROSS DRESSER!"

"You Are To! Every Time I See You, You're Wearing Something FEMININE!"

"THERE IS NOTHING FEMINUTE ABOUT WEARING A KIMONO!"

"WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE WEARING PINK?"

"THERE'S NOTHING WRONG ABOUT WEARING PINK! I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WERE SUCH A STEREOTYPE!"

"WELL WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK! YOU LOOK LIKE, ACT LIKE, AND DRESS LIKE A GIRL!"

"WELL YOUR HAIR IS SHORT, BUT I NEVER ACCUSED YOU OF BEING MALE!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T ACT LIKE ONE!"

"I DON'T ACT LIKE A GIRL!"

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP!" The nurse screamed.

They both went silent, faces burning from a mixture of feelings. Haku was obviously extremely insulted, and Hinata was just severely confused.

"Miss Hinata," The nurse was twitching, "please leave the room…I have work to do with my MALE patient Haku."

Hinata quickly left the room, angered, shocked, and many other things which she couldn't quite place. Luckily, they wouldn't be seeing each other again for at least a month.

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Eek…I didn't plan to make them blow up on each other like that…but I must admit...it was very funny…I think I should change the genre.. I don't do that much angst.. Leave a review! I wanna know if you thought it was funny. --begs on hands and knees for the opinions she adores soo much-- 


	8. Mission Start

scratches the back of her head--

This chapter's a pretty blunt one... really, just a opening for the next one...hope you enjoy anyway!

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YIKES, I almost forgot the I disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything related to it! HA! No suing….

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Recently, everyone's seemed kind of tense. The severe lack of ninja required even the lowest classes to be up and about. Hinata, luckily, hadn't had any missions slapped on her…but that all changed today. Kurenai had her and Shino meet her at their usual training place. She smiled as greeting, and then immediately got down to business.

"You two have a mission."

Apparently, they had been given a B-class mission, Kiba wouldn't be able to accompany them. Kurenai herself also had a mission she had to attend to shortly, making Hinata think that a B-class was only on her and Shino shoulders. Kurenai noticed the droop in the young girl's expression, and remembered she forgot something.

"Opps.. I forgot, you will have a team leader.. and jounin will accompany you...though I don't know who."

Hinata was relieved, but about an hour after that, she began to have worries about who the person was. It didn't bother her for long, since they had two weeks to worry about what kind of attitude they'd encounter.

At that designated time, she met Shino at their usual training ground, but she saw no one else. Today, she wore a different gray jacket, it didn't have a hood, but instead, a collar that reached to the middle of her neck and there was no furriness at the bottom, everything else about her attire was the same. She had gotten the jacket because it was more durable than the other

She looked at Shino for a while before asking, "Are we the only ones here..?"

"No.."

"Huh," Hinata started, "…but-Eek!" Haku grabbed her from behind and scared her senseless.

"Sorry Hinata-chan, I couldn't help it." Naturally, when you hang around Naruto for a while, you may pick up a few good scare tactics. Hinata turned around to face the jounin that frightened her, Haku, wore a simple black shirt with a light blue gi over it. He wore black shorts, and had a leaf symbol headband (I swear I don't know the name for them!) on the usually spot, though there was another he wore around his arm that Hinata didn't recognized. His hair, instead of being down, which was the only way anyone in the village had seen it, was up in a bun that probably only team 7 would recognize. She stared at him for a moment before inquiring,

"Why aren't you wearing a jounin vest?"

"…It throws off my center of gravity." He politely replied.

"oh…umm…..Haku? You're the team leader?"

"Yes," Then he pulled out a small scroll, "And I have our mission right here…"

"umm… Haku?"

"Ne?"

"I'm sorry…you know..for-"

"-What happened at the hospital? Don't worry about that Hinata-chan, I'm equally to blame."

"…thanks"

"No problem."

"The mission?" Shino asked.

"Oh yes, that. This mission," He started as he open the scroll, "should last about three weeks. As you already know, it's a B-class mission, which means we may encounter hostile skillful others. Our job is to make sure a girl named Aura Kamachi reaches her destination safely and back for three weeks. Some type of school she is attending… Anyway, the only catch is that we must do so without being detected by her or anyone else for the matter. And That's pretty much it."

He pulled out a few pictures. "The town in which this mission is held is call Sotawaki. Here's the route that she would most likely be going. This is a picture of her." Aura was a tanned girl with light blue hair that had a few dark blue streaks, she wasn't thin, but not as large as Chouji either. She had a pleasant but sad face that made one automatically feel sorry for her.

"That's pretty much it, we should leave in about half an hour. Get anything you need to take and meet me at the gate. Ja ne."

And with that, Haku was gone, leaving Hinata and Shino minutes to prepare.

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I really don't like how this chapter came out… Haku was all about taking care of business, ne?….I'll update shortly...please leave me a review and tell me how to improve in any way…or You could tell me what I did right…oh...and does anyone know what "shota" means? I have no idea! 


	9. Curiosity

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

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"Hinata, to your right." He whispered the command quickly.

"Hai Haku-san." The pale eyed girl dashed from her post on the tree to move adjacent to the building of her target.

"Shino-kun, go straight to the arrival site, we'll wait there for any more activity."

"Hai." He was gone before any normal eyes could follow his movements.

Haku sighed and leaned back against the tree he was posted on, "This Aura girl…she must have some interesting enemies. This is the fifth time someone's made an attempt on her life."

Normally, Haku would've been the first to jump to action, but these assassins were hardly a match for worry, which is exactly why he sent Hinata. The girl needed to gain more confidence in her ability, and that ninja would hardly be a challenge for5 her taijutsu.

'But just to check…' He tapped their com-link, "Shino-kun, any sign of trouble coming your way?"

"No…the assassins are no longer in pursuit of Aura."

"Thought so…Hinata, coming my way?"

"Hai, Haku-san." She replied quickly, making her way back to their post, "Aura should make it to her destination without any hindrances."

'…How am I going to get her to stop calling me Haku-san?" He frowned heavily, feeling suddenly old.

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The weeks went by extremely uneventfully. There were other enemies coming about, however; Haku soon lost his patience and began to deal with the opponents quite…bloodily. Shino soon understood that the other male was quite a sadist when he wanted to be…so of course, he kept that information from Hinata.

"Haku-san?" She asked randomly as they waited for a new situation to come about. Yes, she really shouldn't be talking at all, knowing that any moment of blasé could lead to this type of mission's failure…but Haku had eyes that could watch for the both of them, distracted or no.

"Yes Hinata-chan?" He answered without looking from the streets he was surveying.

"What does that sign stand for?" She motioned to the mist symbol on the head protector that was on his upper arm.

"This?" He smiled, "My home ninja village…the village of the mist." He stated bluntly, "You don't know the symbols?"

"Well," She began twiddling her fingers, "There are many villages…"

"True…" He finished, leaning back slightly.

Hinata stayed silent a moment longer before asking, "Umm…not that I don't want you here…but why did you come to the village of the leaf?"

"Heh, I was a lucky missing nin."

"Missing nin? You were a missing nin?" She stared at bishonen disbelieving, "W-why?"

"My master…he decided to revolt…and I'd gladly follow his example." His smiled softened.

"…M-master?" She questioned, "Sensei you mean?"

"Iie. My master. The owner of my blood and soul." He clearly acknowledged.

"…What's…what's he like?"

"It matters not. He's dead." He muttered, eyes clouding slightly.

Hinata wasn't sure how to reply to that, 'A master is a horrible thing to have in such a since…but…' She gazed at his face, 'He doesn't seem bitter when he talks about him…' "…How did he become…your master?"

Haku smiled again, "He accepted me…that was enough to give my everything to him…" He glance at her, "Where you were born, a Kekkai Genkai isn't considered a curse. But where I was, being one was enough to be killed indiscriminately."

Her eyes widened slightly, "…I…I see."

Haku blinked briefly before turning his attention back to the streets.

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"Haku-san?"

Another surprisingly uneventful afternoon lead to another bout of questions from the curious Hyuuga girl.

"Yes Hinata-chan?" He smiled to himself, half expecting it now.

"…I know you said it doesn't matter…but what…what was this…master of yours like?"

"Beautiful." He smiled.

"…" 'Is Haku queer?' "Umm…"

"Yes?"

"…What do you mean…by beautiful?"

"He was a beautiful person." He blinked and looked at her again, "You know…beautiful."

"…"

"…?"

"Are you queer?"

"…" He sweatdropped, "Of course not."

"Oh…" She sighed.

He smiled sweetly, "I'm bi."

"…"

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Hinata frowned, 'I'm going to get some straight answers out of him today…I just have to be…more…direct,' "Haku, what was your m-master's name?"

Haku was a bit startled by her suddenness, "Zabuza…his name was Momochi Zabuza."

'Quick answer! Wow.' She smiled, quite pleased with herself, "Arigatou Haku-san."

"Onegai…don't call me 'san'."

It was Hinata's turned to blink, puzzled, "Why not?"

"It makes me feel old." He stood and began to glare intently, "We have someone trying to abduct Ms. Aura…I'll handle this."

Hinata watched helplessly as he jumped off to make some other a victim for trying to make a victim.

'…perhaps I'm being too nosy.' She thought, 'But…I…I really want to know more about him.' She blushed slightly, 'Why do I have this surge of curiosity…?'

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-sigh- You know, this isn't anything like the chapter was when I originally typed it…but I can't…seem to remember everything. All I know for a fact, it is a little better. I wrote the other so long along…so I know…this has to be an improvement.

I need inspiration!

…

I'll…try to update eventually…I know how this story is going to end…it's just…getting to it that's so hard…

Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot…

Iie - No

Onegai - Please

And Shino is at another point keeping watch, that's why he's not in any of these conversations.


End file.
